Below you’ll find a collection of common advice for new (and not so new -smile) writers.

Write!
First and foremost WRITE. Write little, if that fits the time available, and about any topic imaginable if this is easier - but make sure it’s often. Good practice makes perfect is one reason why ‘just writing’ is so important. Add to this the adage that nothing is ever wasted. The piece you sketch out today about a seemingly random and unconnected event, may be the seed of or scene from an important work of tomorrow. So write as a priority and seek all other advice alongside this.

Carry Your Toolkit
This relates to the ‘what ever else you do write’ point. It’s obvious but easily overlooked. Carry a pen and highly portable notepad (or electronic substitute) around with you. Be ever ready to capture that moment, that thought or idea that’ll change the world.

Read
When self-confidence is not running high with regards to your own work, the last thing you may be thinking about is reading the work of others. But, this is one of those counter-intuitive things and reading the work of others really can help to drive or inspire your own writing. It is perhaps something to do with the way that a writer reads, their interest may reside in the way an author conveys situations or events, in the techniques employed, as much as in the jist of the plot, narrative or story line. Or it maybe that distraction from conscious thought sometimes gives space and time for the mind to find other ways to move things on.

Write About What You Know I suppose this depends on the category of writing but could apply equally to science as to contemporary fiction. If your work features the relationships and emotions of people it’s likely that you’ll be able to find good sources of material from your own experiences. This also tends to be the advice given to those starting out, as for the learner writer it would appear logical that you would be able to re-produce your own experiences in text more easily than those you are unfamiliar with.

Seek Constructive Feedback
To ensure personal development we need to be appraised by others. So have people read your work and give you feedback. It might be as well to choose those whose judgement you trust and respect or who you know can appreciate your creative intent and particular form. On the other hand it may be as well to put your work out there (always in some controlled form) and to let the tides of feedback wash over you - mindful of the fact that you know nothing of the reviewers, their background and personal likes / dislikes. Remember your undertaking this for the purpose of learning and developing. You don’t have to accept people dismissing what you’re trying to do. Your looking for comments on your ability to convey and engage (to excite or to intrigue or to make laugh or...).

Be Patient
Writing requires a lot of patience. Because it’s generally a solitary affair in which you patiently sketch out your words until you’re happy they appropriately portray your sentiments. Because the space in between unpublished and acknowledged published can be broad and long. Because a body of great work is usually crafted and does not appear instantly. Being patient is a virtue of the writer. However, because people tend to be either patient or not, it is likely that you’ll have to find your own methods of coping with the ‘nothing much is happening’ periods. You may simply have to press on and keep up the good work. You may find sharing with trusted individuals or the group supportive and encouraging. You may want to join a group of like minds and discuss feelings and ideas. Still, it is likely that you will have to be patient - so you do need to get used to it.

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